London mayor is the party man at Olympics

Describing the bare-bodied spectacle unfolding in the storied heart of London, the newspaper columnist seemed almost to be in heat. “As I write these words there are semi-naked women playing beach volleyball in the middle of the Horse Guards Parade immortalized by Canaletto,” panted the column in Monday’s Telegraph, adding that the women “are glistening like wet otters.”

USA's Michael Phelps looks back at the scoreboard after his anchor leg in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal. Phelps won his first gold medal of the London Olympics, and his 19th medal during his Olympic career, making him the most decorated medal-winner of all time.
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USA swimmer Ryan Lochte leaves the starting block in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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USA's Ryan Lochte swims the first leg of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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USA's Conor Dwyer swims the second leg of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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USA's Ricky Berens swims the third leg of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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USA's Michael Phelps prepares to swim the anchor leg of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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USA's Michael Phelps dives into the pool for the anchor leg of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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USA's Michael Phelps swims the anchor leg of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The USA won the gold medal, France the silver, and China the bronze.
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The USA's Allison Schmitt, right, is congratulated with a hug from Australia's Bronte Barratt following her gold medal victory in the women's 200m freestyle. Barratt won the bronze medal.
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The USA's Allison Schmitt waves to supporters as she leaves the pool following her gold medal victory in the women's 200m freestyle.
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Bronte Barrat of Australia, Allison Schmitt of the United States, and Camile Muffat of France, from left, pose with their medals in the women's 200m freestyle.
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The USA's Allison Schmitt celebrates on the medals podium before receiving her gold medal for her victory in the women's 200m freestyle.
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The USA's Allison Schmitt waves to supporters as she walks pool side with her gold medal from the women's 200m freestyle.
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USA swimmer Michael Phelps swims in the men's 200m butterfly. Austria's Dinko Jukic swims at the top. Phelps won the silver medal in the event.
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Chad le Clos, of South Africa, celebrates winning the gold in the men's 200-meter butterfly, stunning Michael Phelps of the United States.
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South Africa swimmer Chad Le Clos, left, celebrates his gold medal victory in the men's 200m butterfly, as USA swimmer Michael Phelps rests to the right behind him. Phelps won the silver medal in the event.
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Describing the bare-bodied spectacle unfolding in the storied heart of London, the newspaper columnist seemed almost to be in heat.

“As I write these words there are semi-naked women playing beach volleyball in the middle of the Horse Guards Parade immortalized by Canaletto,” panted the column in Monday’s Telegraph, adding that the women “are glistening like wet otters.”

It wasn’t the typical political commentary one might expect in a leading daily newspaper, but then there’s little typical about the writer: London Mayor Boris Johnson.

With his peculiar mix of Oxford erudition and schoolboy humor, Johnson has emerged as these Olympics’ shameless cheerleader-in-chief. Gleefully sidestepping worries about security staffing and cost overruns, Johnson’s full-throated, jingoistic enthusiasm for all things London has won over some skeptics and buoyed a city that long questioned its readiness to host these games.

With his country not doing as well as expected so far in the medal standings, Johnson, a conservative recently elected to a second term, could come off as London’s biggest winner if the games conclude without a major hitch. A poll published Monday by the Independent newspaper found that Johnson was the leading choice of Conservative Party members to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron as party leader, perhaps setting him up for a shot at Britain’s top political job.

“It’s hard to think of an event that would play better to his particular character attributes than the Olympics,” said Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics. “This is supposed to be a festival of sport and international friendliness . . . and he is just good at that sort of party stuff.”

Pleasantly disheveled with scarecrow hair, always ready with a quip, Johnson has become a fixture at Olympic events across the city. There he was at the men’s synchronized diving finals on Monday, tweeting his support for the British pair. And there he was Tuesday at beach volleyball – naturally – joining a raucous crowd in doing the wave.

The mayor, whom nearly everyone here refers to as “Boris,” drew laughs when he dismissed the U.K.’s meager medal tally. “I think we are showing great natural restraint and politeness as host nation in not hoarding the medals more so far,” he said, according to the Independent.

Last week, on the eve of the opening ceremonies, it was Johnson who responded most volubly to Mitt Romney’s comments questioning whether London was prepared to play host, telling a crowd in Hyde Park, “He wants to know whether we’re ready. Are we ready? Are we ready? Yes, we are!”

To be sure, Johnson has had little to do with the Games’ success so far: London won the Olympics well before he came to office in 2008, and most of the new infrastructure projects, including rail lines to manage the traffic, were begun under his predecessor, the liberal Ken Livingstone.

But while others deal with doping allegations and empty seats at Olympic venues, Johnson gets to play the genial host. On Tuesday, the BBC reported that Johnson extended an invitation to the Olympics to Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., which is battling a major phone-hacking scandal at one of its London tabloids.

Johnson’s skyrocketing profile has prompted speculation that the 48-year-old might one day seek the prime minister’s job, but he’s brushed off the possibility in characteristic fashion. Appearing on David Letterman’s show last month, Johnson said, “I have about as much chance as being reincarnated as an olive.”

Liberal voters predominate in London, but Johnson squeaked out a second term in the May elections even as conservative politicians elsewhere took a beating. One longtime supporter of the liberal Labor party on Tuesday called Johnson “a national treasure” and said he was “the only conservative I’ve ever been tempted to vote for.” (She didn’t want to be named crossing party lines.)

“He still manages to get re-elected, and we do tend to think that’s because of his personality,” said Coralie Pring, a senior research analyst with ComRes, a polling firm.

Johnson was born in New York City – he moved to London when he was 5 – and experts say that voters see a certain American quality in his relaxed optimism. A journalist before he went into politics, Johnson likes mixing it up in public, in part through his weekly column in the Telegraph.

Of course, his mouth sometimes gets him into trouble, as when he came into criticism for taking an annual salary of 250,000 pounds, or nearly $400,000, for writing the column. He called the amount “chicken feed.”

A decade ago, writing in the Telegraph while he was a member of Parliament, Johnson lampooned a visit to Congo by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that “tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief.” Johnson later apologized for the remark.

Randy comments about beach volleyballers, however, remain fair game.

“He’s not exactly angling for female votes with remarks of that kind,” Travers said. “He’s projecting the view of him being a normal human being speaking in a way that normal people really do speak.”